And yet, I did just fine. I killed no one. I gave no one the stare of death.

I was not the child, the Mama, nor the sleeping cell phone owner. However, I believe I was the recipient of the scolding.

What scolding? A man sitting near me turned and looked at someone and said something like "It's about time you stopped. You've been on a quite a while." I think he was talking to me, but he was wearing sunglasses so there was no eye contact.

However, I was on the phone at the time, having a very quiet (near-whisper), very cordial, relatively short, business call.

WTF?

I've been on the bus before when the driver said that cell calls should be kept short, but our driver yesterday made no such announcement. (And I've never seen or heard any reinforcement of said announcement even when I might have welcomed it.)

I certainly understand that there are people who are very thoughtless about cell phone use. I've certainly been annoyed not only by obnoxious, loud ringtones, but also by obnoxious, loud (and inevitably long and banal) conversations. I've been unwilling witness to one side of fights, cussing, and melodrama via mobile, often at hours when I'd have loved to catch a nap instead.

But really? Someone had a problem with a quiet, civil, non-trivial (though not exciting either) business call held during business hours that he could barely even hear? And felt compelled to act as phone police?

All of that is mostly vaguely annoying. The part that I hate is that I've wasted time thinking about it, worrying that I somehow violated some sort of rule or social norm or something (I am capable of extreme social retardation).

Comments

It's a moon phase thing. People are crazy. Shake it off -- because you're very considerate.

Went to WallyWorld with a friend who wanted to get a bathroom rug. I helped her out. The aisle was a mess when we got there. So when I pulled a rug out, I refolded it and started to put it back. The WW clerk started to scold me about folding it "wrong" -- seriously, it looked identical to the others! When he snatched the rug out of my hands, I just turned and walked away.

Sometimes it doesn't matter how considerate you are, don't take on someone else's baggage. Just take a good long look and recognize what crazy looks like!